Many employers rely on pre-employment aptitude testing to help them compare applicants and quickly identify the strongest candidates. These tests give them a uniform way to assess crucial skills, such as technical knowledge, literacy and reasoning ability. If you’re applying for a job that relies on communication skills, for example, you might take a language comprehension test requiring you to choose the most appropriate word for a sentence or select a synonym or antonym.

Technical Questions

If you work in a highly technical field such as engineering, mathematics or science, employers might administer aptitude tests to evaluate how well you understand and can apply these principles in a workplace setting. For a computer programming job, employers might quiz you on basic programming codes or ask you to write a piece of code for a specific purpose. For a job handling money, for example as a bank teller, they might ask you to complete numerical and word problems covering addition and percentages.

Reasoning and Logic

Instead of assessing specific knowledge, some employers prefer to evaluate candidates’ overall reasoning and logic skills. This type of aptitude test might include questions that list a series of numbers or words and ask the test taker to choose which word or number should come next in the sequence. Or, you might encounter a question where you're given two true statements and must use reasoning to determine if a third statement is true based on the information provided in the first two.

Problem Solving

Some employers want candidates who can think independently and devise creative solutions to challenging problems. They might use an aptitude test designed to assess how well you process and evaluate information and how resourceful you are when coming up with ways to address dilemmas. For example, a test question might describe a scenario in which you must deal with an irate customer or collaborate with a colleague you disagree with. You’d then be asked to describe how you’d approach the problem. Another scenario might focus on a situation in which you have limited time or resources to accomplish a goal and ask how you’d proceed.

Language

For many jobs, strong language and communication skills are imperative to success. If you’re applying for a writing or editing position, the employer might ask you to take a spelling test, edit a sample piece of writing or complete a timed writing test. They might also evaluate your reading comprehension. For example, you might be given an instructional paragraph that describes how to change a tire or operate a piece of machinery. You’d then answer a series of questions covering the information provided as proof you understand and could apply what you read.